The objective of the present invention is teaching novel intelligent appliances for measuring and/or monitoring various human body functions/parameters such as body weight, body girth, body height, blood pressure and cardiac activity with the objective of further relating the acquired biological data with various other information including health and gastronomic information.
The prior art of record does not teach the means for real time acquisition of various biological data utilizing intelligent appliances and additionally does not teach the means for relating the acquired biological data for correlation to specific items of foods ingested and various activities expended, including physical exercise, for providing a means for an individual to pro actively manage his/her own health. The present invention teaches a novel method for real time personal health management of an individual by the individual him/her self or by the individual in conjunction with a health professional located locally or across the world such as on the Internet.
In order to get quality care from a health professional, significant and relevant information about the individual/patient must be provided to the health professional including the trends and history of various biological parameters. Often patients relate random information and subjective opinions about the human condition without providing objective data and data trends. Consequently, the un-structured and non quantified information provided by the patient severely limits the ability of the health professional to diagnose a health problem and further limits the ability of the patient to get quality care in real time.
Therefore, there is a need for a new class of intelligent appliances, referred in here as intelligent personal health management appliances that enable the individual to personally acquire one or more types of biological information in real time, archive said information for co-relation with factors such as diet and other activities including physical exercise, for personal health management by the individual him/her self or for personal health management in conjunction with a qualified health professional. The cost of quality health care is increasing much faster than inflation in most countries and it is becoming beyond the reach of a large segment of the world population. The ability to get access in real time to trained health professionals and the amount of time that the health professional spends in examining the patient is woefully in adequate. Additionally, patients in certain geographical areas do not have access to urgent care or to experts that have the requisite training related to a specific problem. However, the potential for wired broadband connectivity or wireless connectivity in most areas of the world is realizable faster than the potential for the deployment of qualified health professionals in non urban areas.
The present invention teaches novel methods and novel appliances for real time data acquisition of biological information, for archiving said data for contemporaneous utility or for utility at a selected time, for analyzing said data, for determining trends, for communication of said data to one or more health professionals and for comprehensive real time management of the personal health of an individual in a cost effective manner in accordance with the quality/cost objectives acceptable to the individual.